New research has found that a crystal can be converted into an electrical circuit, paving the way for a bevy of new electronic devices.
Researchers at Washington State University have developed a method to write an electrical circuit into a crystal, which could result in transparent, 3D electronics that can be erased and reconfigured, similar to an Etch A Sketch.
The research team used a laser to etch a line in the crystal that carried a current, with electrical contacts at each end of the line.
“It opens up a new type of electronics where you can define a circuit optically and then erase it and define a new one,” Matt McCluskey, a WSU professor of physics and materials science, said in a statement. “It's exciting that it's reconfigurable.
“It's also transparent. There are certain applications where it would be neat to have a circuit that is on a window or something like that, where it actually is invisible electronics,” he added.
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